Track2Realty: In India’s competitive real estate market, luxury housing projects have been launched aplenty over the last couple of years. So much so that a conservative market like Chennai, for instance, is likely to witness about 1,500 units of ultra-luxury homes—budgeted between Rs. 5–20 crore—within the next 12 months.
Track2Realty: The global house price boom continued during the year to Q1 (first quarter) 2014, gathering pace. Despite strongly rising housing markets in Taiwan and the Philippines, the momentum seems to be passing momentarily from Asia, where interventionist authorities have slowed housing markets in Hong Kong, Singapore and China. Instead, action is shifting to the Pacific, the Gulf, and (less forcefully) to Europe, which are all seeing strong price rises.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Every project is launched with the presumption of existing demand in the given catchment area. If that be the reason the sector should not have been sitting over a record inventory. Track2Realty tries to explore what defines demand and how the flawed concept of demand leads to demand-supply mismatch. It is a grey zone for the real estate which hits where it hurts the most to the developers, yet most of them try to justify launches and shrug off the subject.
Track2Realty Exclusive: To say that the Indian business community in general and the real estate developers in particular desperately wanted a change in the business outlook and hence change in the government would be stating the obvious. For the last couple of years they were cribbing about policy paralysis, inflation, and negative sentiments, and hence the developers are visibly elated with the change of guard at the Centre.
Track2Realty Exclusive: To say that the property market of Mumbai has been subdued for quite some time would be stating the obvious. Reports of inventory pile up and appreciation despite slow sales have only made the sentiments bearish. The macro-economic outlook in the last over a year has also not supported the cause of real estate market in the city. Amidst this gloomy scenario, comes the festival of Akshay Tirtiya which has traditionally been known for property acquisition in the city.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Is there any co-relation between luxury properties, High Net Worth Individuals (HNIs) and Akshay Tirtiya? Prime facie, it may seem to be very innocuous question but for those who are tracking the property market of Mumbai find not only a co-relation among the three, but also find the three working in tandem can ignite the property market as well.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Akshay Tirtiya holds special significance in Gujarat both for the traditional Gujaratis as well as the youngsters with the modern outlook to the culture and traditions. This festival is seen as the right time to acquire assets and traditionally the business of gold touches a new high on the day of Akshay Tirtiya.
Track2Realty: Knight Frank India in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry today released its second set of findings of the quarterly Real Estate Sentiment Index. The first index that covered Q4 2013 was released in February, 2014.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Statistics only tell half the story and this old adage is all the more relevant in the property market where the transactions and appreciation/depreciation may or may not have a direct co-relation. In Gujarat real estate market the prophets of doomsday had a field day in the last over a year time due to slow pace of growth. They cited the National Housing bank’s Residex that shows Ahmedabad witnessed only 6 per cent growth in property prices in last one year.
Track2Realty Exclusive: The current economic environment is indeed one of the most challenging in recent history. The headwinds of inflation, interest rates, construction costs, and subdued consumer demand have constrained real-estate growth in many micro-markets across the country. Economic volatility aside, I am optimistic about long-term real-estate sector prospects. My optimism is founded in irrefutable realities – the rapid urbanization of India, burgeoning segment of upwardly mobile Indians, limited availability of urban residential housing and unabated aspiration of home ownership.